Afghan children and their families abandoned in remote hotels following High Court ruling – Garden Court Chambers

‘Afghan families remain trapped in remote hotels following today’s High Court ruling that the Home Secretary did not act unlawfully by moving them from a London hotel to hotels in a city in the north of England. The move significantly disrupted the children’s education and adults’ employment. Following the judgment, the families remain in temporary accommodation and at risk of further moves, as the Home Office has failed to secure the settled accommodation it promised. The families have been stuck in hotels for over one and a half years since being evacuated from Afghanistan in August 2021.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 24th March 2023

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

High Court grants interim injunction over Home Office plan to house asylum seekers at disused airfield – Local Government Lawyer

‘Braintree District Council has secured an interim injunction temporarily blocking Home Office plans to accommodate asylum seekers at an airbase, ahead of a High Court hearing on the matter next week.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th April 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Statistics watchdog rebukes Sunak over inaccurate asylum backlog figures – The Guardian

Posted April 5th, 2023 in asylum, government departments, immigration, news, ombudsmen, refugees, statistics by sally

‘Rishi Sunak and his immigration minister have been scolded by the UK statistics watchdog for using inaccurate figures to back up spurious claims about asylum seekers.’

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The Guardian, 5th April 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Local Government Association raises concerns over Illegal Migration Bill, highlights conflict with Children Act 1989 – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 4th, 2023 in asylum, bills, children, immigration, local government, news by sally

‘The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that provisions in the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill regarding unaccompanied children could conflict with the Children Act 1989.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd April 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Asylum seeker barge plan would face legal challenge – BBC News

Posted April 4th, 2023 in asylum, hotels, housing, news, ships by sally

‘Ministers are facing the prospect of a legal challenge if they go ahead with plans to house asylum seekers on a barge off the Dorset coast.’

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BBC News, 4th April 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Illegal Migration Bill and the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol: The return of the Charter of Fundamental Rights – UK Human Rights Blog

‘This is not a post about the conflict between the provisions of the Illegal Migration Bill and the European Convention on Human Rights (an issue which has already attracted a considerable amount of critical academic commentary – see here and here). Instead, it is a post about the Bill’s potential conflict with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (“CFR”) and the UK’s commitments under the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement, whether (and why) such a conflict matters in domestic law and how (if at all) that conflict could be resolved.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 31st March 2023

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Home Office accused of building delays into plan to speed asylum claims – The Guardian

Posted March 31st, 2023 in asylum, delay, government departments, immigration, news, refugees by sally

‘Immigration lawyers have accused the Home Office of building delays into a scheme meant to speed up decisions on 12,000 asylum claims.’

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The Guardian, 30th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Amendments To The Illegal Migration Bill Split Parliament – Each Other

Posted March 30th, 2023 in asylum, bills, deportation, immigration, news, political parties by sally

‘On 27 March, MPs were back in parliament to debate the proposed Illegal Migration Bill. Its return to the House of Commons has reportedly split Tory MPs over the issue of its hardening stance on people arriving on small boats across the Channel.’

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Each Other, 29th March 2023

Source: eachother.org.uk

Illegal migration bill could topple world refugee system, lawmakers told – The Guardian

‘The government’s plans to curtail the rights of asylum seekers could lead to the collapse of the system of international protection for refugees, parliamentarians have been warned.’

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The Guardian, 29th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Afghan refugees lose High Court challenge over Home Office offer of bridging accommodation in Manchester – Local Government Lawyer

‘Afghan refugees who were resettled in London have lost a High Court bid to try to prevent them being sent to Manchester by the Home Office.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Legal limbo’: Human rights chief steps into small boats bill row – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Proposed legislation aimed at stopping cross-channel migration in small boats would be incompatible with the UK’s international obligations, the leading human rights figure at the 46-member Council of Europe said today. Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, warned that the provisions of the Illegal Migration Bill ‘create clear and direct tension with well-established and fundamental human rights standards’.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th March 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Council takes legal action to stop asylum seekers being sent to Essex airfield – The Guardian

‘An Essex council is seeking an urgent injunction against the Home Office to try to prevent plans to house asylum seekers on an airfield close to a small village.’

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The Guardian, 26th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

UNHCR: Illegal Migration Bill ‘extinguishes’ most refugees’ right to seek asylum – The Independent

‘The United Nations refugee agency’s representative to the UK has warned that the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill “effectively extinguishes the right to seek asylum in the UK for all but a very few refugees”.’

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The Independent, 26th March 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Experts cast doubt on Braverman’s hopes of ECHR rule change on Rwanda – The Guardian

‘Legal experts have cast doubt on the UK’s claims of “possible reforms” to European court of human rights procedures that stopped an asylum seeker from being deported to Rwanda last year.’

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The Guardian, 20th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Assessing capacity: the principles – Local Government Lawyer

‘Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon) reports on a capacity masterclass from MacDonald J in the Court of Protection, and highlights an updated capacity guide from 39 Essex Chambers.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Social workers should not assess asylum seeker ages for Home Office, professional body says – The Guardian

‘The professional body for social workers has urged its members not to work with the Home Office to assess the ages of asylum seekers, saying that political pressures could undermine their professional judgment.
The Home Office is recruiting social workers to join the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB), which was set up under the Nationality and Borders Act to take responsibility for determining the age of asylum seekers away from local authorities.’

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The Guardian, 15th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Migration bill ‘would rock the UK’s standing as a reliable nation’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Law Society speaks out as measure aimed at tackling small-boat crossings goes before House of Commons.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 13th March 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Asylum seekers win permission to challenge UK’s Rwanda policy – The Guardian

‘A court of appeal judge has ruled that a group of asylum seekers can bring a legal challenge against the Home Office for what they claim has been a failure to consider the dangers and risks of deporting them to Rwanda.’

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The Guardian, 14th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

What Does the Illegal Migration Bill Mean for Modern Slavery? – Each Other

‘Following the publication of the Illegal Migration Bill, EachOther summarises developments in the Bill and what it could mean for victims of modern slavery in the UK.’

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Each Other, 14th March 2023

Source: eachother.org.uk

London councils urge Home Office to rethink hotels policy for asylum seekers – The Guardian

‘Two-thirds of London’s councils have signed a letter to the home secretary calling for a major shake-up of the government’s hotels policy for asylum seekers.’

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The Guardian, 12th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com